“Podcasting” was the 2005 Word of the Year, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary. The editors define the term as “a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.”
I’ve been doing some research to gauge the scope of this new tool.
There seems to be a growing interest in podcasts. According to a March article by eMarketer.com, approximately 10 million people in the US are listening to podcasts. The firm also believes that by 2008 this number will hit 25 million.
It seems that over 3 million people download an average of one or more podcasts per week, and production spending is consistently increasing.
Who’s Listening?
According to a study by Arbitron and Edison Media Research, podcast listeners are a small but profitable group. The study found that 22% of Americans have heard of podcasting, and 11% (27 million) have ever listened to a podcast. The aforementioned 3 million loyal weekly listeners amount to fewer than 4% of Americans.
According to Podtrac, a company that tracks podcasts and podcast advertising, podcast listeners and viewers are predominantly male. They are highly educated, have high incomes, and frequently buy online.
Podcasting in the future?
Podcasts are not just a novelty – the market is seeing real business applicability for this tool. Like blogs, podcasts are a new medium that is catching momentum. We should expect to see interesting and innovative things in the future. RD2 is watching this emerging medium closely and Chris tells me we will be utilizing podcasts soon for partners who fit the demographics.
What does it take to implement PodCasting?
Podcasting can be as simple or as complicated as many new technologies (i.e. blogs).
Simple podcasting procedures from Podcastingnews.com
In a corporate setting, the steps are the same, but on a more professional scale (often including professional people at all steps of the process).